Episode 341: PWHL rookie Hannah Murphy of the Seattle Torrent

Intro

We are the home of ingoalmag.com. It's InGoal Radio, the podcast presented by The Hockey Shop Source for Sports Langley, thehockeyshop.com, Daren Millard, along with the cofounders of InGoal Magazine, Kevin Woodley and David Hutchison. Hutch, you're looking very Canadian today with your Canadian?

You're looking very Canadian with your toque.

Toque. Can you translate that word for everybody south of the border?

Beanie. There you go.

I actually had to read a a giveaway the other day, for the Henderson Silver Knights, and at the end and I goofy me. I didn't read through it before. And at the end, it's like, and the first 1,500 fans will receive a beanie. And then I started ad libbing, which was wrong because I'm like, beanie. It's a toque in in in Canada.

Toque. Do you know how to spell toque, by the way?

I think I could probably do that.

T o q u e. Why is everybody waiting? Am I wrong?

I think you're right.

Yeah. That's how you spell toque. I'm pretty sure. I like Hutch's toque because it's a vintage goalie toque. It's a sweet one.

It's a good one.

Trying to look the part even though we're not on video. Just doing my best. Repping a good brand. Love the Vintage

guy than a than a toque slash beanie. The the toques get itchy.

Yeah. It's just a little chilly here. We're not in Vegas right now, so I like to stay warm in the office.

Oh, dude. We are we are knocking on the door of the sweet spot of weather down here.

Oh, really?

Played golf a couple of times last week, playing again tomorrow, and it's it's perfect. This this little break in the schedule has is well timed. Back to back years, we've able to get out, a little bit.

So Okay. So what, like, what are we talking here? Like, sorry. You can't leave it. What kind of temperature numbers are we talking here in Canadian?

Seafood?

Oh, in Canadian? 15 to 20.

Oh my. Very nice.

Yeah. That's

I'm like like and by sweet spot, I mean, you're not sweating.

Yeah. You don't have to drink 17 jugs of water. That's good stuff. You you can get by with polo a if you want, or you always have a hoodie in case the breeze comes up a little bit.

Oh, that's that is the sweet part.

Guys wear shorts, so that's good.

I got somebody's going to abandoned dunes this week, and it's around that 12 to 15 range. Very doable. Yeah. Very doable.

Twelve twelve gets a little bit on the edge for

me. You've in Vegas too long. Yes. Little soft there, old man.

And I admit it. What what has been firmer than we expected or people speculated, team Canada's goaltending at the Olympic Winter Games. Outscoring the opposition ten one through two games as we record this, and Jordan Binnington was really clean early and posted the shutout, and there was a big opening save by Logan Thompson. He only allows one and was solid in his first appearance.

Yeah. And got a bit of a tough bounce on the one. Right? Like, off the glove, off the crossbar, and and Petr Souter bats it in. You know, can we talk Binnington a little bit?

We do it now.

Let's let's

do that.

You know, there at the end of the day, there aren't like, there's no hiding from what was happening in Saint Louis in terms of the numbers. Right? Like and it's not just the eight sixty four Ross eight percentage. The adjusted numbers weren't flattered flattering either. Right?

It was a really difficult environment defensively. They've been really loose. They've left him to his own devices. Reads have been tough behind that team from the video I broke down. But even if even outside of that, most of the damage in terms of his numbers relative to environment have been done on high danger chances and a couple in particular.

And so before we get to those, would it surprise you to know that even during this tough and difficult regular season in Saint Louis, Jordan Binnington has given up fewer low danger goals or quote unquote bad goals, goals that go in off low percentage chances than Connor Hellebuck, Jake Oettinger, Jeremy Swayman, Jacob Markstrom, Juuse Saros, Elvis Merzlikins, Karel Vejmelka, Lukas Dostal, and Filip Gustavsson amongst the goalies that

are So he's allowed the fewest bad goals, basically. That's what

I'm fewest, but fewer than those guys. There's couple other guys like like, Shesterkin, Freddie Andersen, Grubauer, Korpisalo, Vladar have been really good on low danger chances. But I guess my point is

Is that per 60 or a raw number?

That's that's just an adjusted save. That that's the total. And the adjusted save the adjusted his adjusted save percentage on low danger chances is a is a little lower than some of those guys. But but the point being because he's seen fewer chances than them.

So he's not he's not been near as as off his game as what the raw numbers say.

Yes. And at least and and let's be honest.

I did I that that surprised me, by the way. You you started that with would you would it surprise you? That does surprise me.

And and that's the thing. Like and and even even his seven, you know, compared to, you know, eight for Hellebuyck. I'll just go do the Americans. Eight for Helle Buck, 12 for Jeremy Swayman, 12 for Jake Oettinger. Like, he's played fewer games, and his numbers relative to that are you know, Hellebuyck's given up one more, but on way more chances.

So his actual, like, math, his adjusted save percentage on low danger, slightly better, but he's better than the other two. Like, he's the point is heading into the Olympics where this environment is going to be a lot better, the chances that are going in on him are not the types of chances I think you expect him to have to deal with nearly as often behind team Canada. And when I look at where he's really struggled, the the areas are rebounds statistically, and we did see some of those against Yeah. Czechia, for sure. Broken plays, so pucks that don't even get to him, they're like the loose pucks that hit a leg, either go in or hit a leg and squirt off to the side.

In other words, at least on a rebound, you should, in theory, know where it's headed because it it hit you. You felt it. You attempted to make a save. Broken plays don't even get to you. They can be some of the toughest ones.

He's given up 30 broken play goals this year. Now even if they do give up broken play chances at the Olympics, like, there's we we start to run into some teams, some big heavy teams like the Americans that get bodies to the net and create that level of chaos. Don't you like his chances better behind the defense that Canada brings out in terms of tying up sticks, blocking out players, helping him on those second chances?

Well, yeah, you're you're basically pointing out the fact that both of those are things that will be way more impacted by the defensive structure in front of them than so many other types of shots. You know, if you leave a rebound and your guys are all puck watching and not as you say tie up sticks, you don't have the same chance that a goalie on a a better structured team has or the same thing when pucks just start hitting guys in front of the net. I would think that the models don't aren't able to take that sort of thing into account.

No. The you know what the else the models don't take into account? They don't take account systems and reads. So what's supposed to be happening in front of you and your ability to read off of that? And it it's looked a little chaotic.

There's been a lot of slot line carries. That's the other statistic that he is underwater on in Saint Louis. East West plays across the middle, slot line plays. But when you look at them, a lot of them are carries, like guys with time and space and head up and they're and they're carrying the puck through the middle and they're able to make a move. And they're kinda taking advantage of what at times is some positional aggression.

Again, relative to some of his peers in the NHL, like heels out on the crease rather than toes in or even, I think, you know, around the league right now, more guys going three quarter depth. The slot line plays and those numbers are where, again, I think there's gonna be way fewer of them behind Canada, but that's the last sort of question mark. If, say, you run into the Americans, whatever round it is, whether it's a gold medal game or earlier, and they're able with their active defense and the way they move and skate to start Tic Tac, towing it around a little bit. I think we saw a moment in the Czechia game where, you know, on an entry into the right post, he missed his spot and then pushes off the post, not clean, comes out to the middle. And if that pass connects on the other side, he was basically trying to trip the guys.

He cut back through the other way, but the pass didn't connect. So, I just think when you look at where he's gotten caught this year, for the most part, these are the types of plays that he's not gonna see nearly enough of or not as many of behind candidates he does in Saint Louis. And the stuff that you really need if you're a candidate at the Olympics, in other words, don't give up the bad one. Right? Like like, don't hurt us.

Like, he hasn't. That's the one area where he's, you know, he's been around league average where he's where his numbers aren't down near the bottom of the league. So those are just a couple of points I wanted to make. I know it's the game is clearly more than math. But to that point, how good is he with the puck?

No. How fun to watch.

And how significant is that? We've seen this at this tournament. Now I haven't watched every game, but talking to some other analysts with that shorter neutral zone, this has not been a rush chance tournament so far. There's a lot of dump and chase. And I think we slept on, forgot about how significant his puck handling was against the American four check at the four nations.

I remember by the end, people had clued in and it was a big story, but it's almost like we forgot about it. And he gave us a reminder against Czechia. Shoulda had an apple on the first goal that was called back because of the offensive zone penalty.

And a very impressive one at that.

Oh, that was so pretty. But even there, even if it's just stopping a puck behind the net and and and a simple leave so that your defenseman can wheel onto it and transition rather than having to pick it up off the wall with a four checker bearing down on them. Like, getting it out of the hands of the defense, out of the zone, and into the hands of what is, I think, you know, I don't even know if you can debate that this is the best forward group at the Olympics, Canada. It's like that's the strength of their team. And Binnington's ability to get to more pucks behind his net than most of his peers, not just make plays with him, but just simple leaves, is I think a massively underrated part of this story.

And we saw, Ryan Rishaug, from TSN did a great job. He was at practice, ahead of their second game, which Logan Thompson started. Looked really good into your point, Daren, but he had some footage of the goalie practice that day. Nobody else showed up. It was just Dave Alexander and the three goalies.

And so much of what I saw in video was puck handling work, getting comfortable with the boards, getting comfortable with making plays under pressure. Like, it's not an accident that Jordan Binnington is as good as he is at this. And you saw Dave Alexander working on it with the other guys, and these boards are different. Right? Like, the corner boards are different shape than yeah.

It's not as deep. It's shallower. And so that affects guys' ability to go out and get it. He's been going out and getting it despite that. I think when you look at a short tournament and getting comfortable with your defense, guess what?

It's pretty much isn't the entire same group back there on defense? I think it's pretty much the same group back for Canada on defense. And so there's a comfort level there. Like and I I just like obviously, goaltending is about stopping the puck. I think the mainstream media and I'm not casting stones because I I was a part of it.

I, you know, I I talked about it, but I don't think nearly enough. I think we kinda missed out on how key his ability to handle the puck is to the way the Canadians get out of their own end in this tournament.

Same group because Harley came in for Theodore when Theodore got hurt last year. So and because you do add an extra guy for the Olympic Winter Games. One more note on the on the board. You you mentioned that the the corner's a little steeper. The the I've seen some bounces off the glass, and I'm I'm I'm kinda waiting for that moment where a puck's gonna go in, if if you're not patient, leaving the net.

Now he he's Binnington's so good at it. He can afford to be a little bit more patient, before he leaves the net, but that's, a goaltender I feel like is gonna get burned here, during this tournament with that rink.

Well and he's out as much as anyone in the tournament. He chased a couple down, it looked like, off the glass. And that's gonna be important when we get to elimination games because there's no way that's not gonna be in the pre scout. Like, you can't just room it along the boards. You gotta get it up on the glass.

Otherwise, he's going to allow them to break out cause he's just so good at getting back there. So And he'll still

try and pick it off the glass as we've seen already.

We have seen that, but to Daren's point, yeah, it's

It's harder, though.

There there's definitely a risk involved too. I mean, what's the there's a there's an adage about about, you know, which ones to leave and which ones to get. Like, there's there's a cute little phrase about leaving them when it's when it's up on the glass, and now I can't remember. So

It looked like Schmidt in in the Canada game in game two. He was letting a lot of those on the glass just go. Like, he wasn't even going on trying to go out. Not saying he's at the same level, but he's he's not poor at it either. It just it looked like a noticeable strategy, something that the Swiss have observed.

And we've seen we've seen the, we've seen how Canada like, as much as we talk about Canada's defenseman not getting four checked hard, if Bennington can play a big part in this. At the other end, even if you're Canada and you're not able to create pretty offense off the rush and you are forced to chip and chase a little bit and dump it in, would you wanna be the defenseman going back in? I mean, we've seen McDavid be physical. We've seen McKinnon be physical. There's Tom Wilson out there.

Like, I'm not sure I'm the defenseman. Like like and especially when you look at the speed advantage that the Americans have on their back end with Werenski and with Hughes and the dynamic offensive defense when they've got back there. Like, who can sort of control that game? And when you juxtapose Bennington to even Connor Hellebuyck, who's improved with his puck handling, but they're in area codes. It'd be interesting to see whether that becomes a a story in this tournament before it's done.

Just an observation. All three goaltenders for Canada play on non playoff teams at the Olympic break. It's strange that, that that would be the case. Normally, you're you're kinda hitting the ground or running, with guys that are having great seasons, but, all three of those guys, on the outside looking in right now.

Well, it's funny because as much as I was tire pumping Jordan Binnington and all the reasons that maybe we we we were didn't do him a good service, like, like, the numbers aren't flattering. When I look at the adjusted numbers, I talked about where he was out of the 76 goalies. The other part of this conversation that had people saying why was Logan Thompson. And amongst the Olympic goalies, his the Washington Capitals may not be in the playoffs, but it's not on him. He leads all goalies at the Olympics in terms of his numbers in the NHL relative to shot quality.

Like, he's he's saving, you know, two goals on every 100 chances, which is top five in the National Hockey League and the best at this tournament. Guess who's second at this tournament? We need, like, a little Jeopardy music because I just randomly throw crap out No.

There it is. There it is. I just just put it in. No. It's either Italy or Slovakia.

Oh, no. I'm talking about guys in the NHL, like, coming into the tournament. Dostal. No? No.

It's actually it's actually Philipp Grubauer. I'm telling you that the Germans I'd be curious to see if they pull an upset here because, obviously, they got Stutzler and they got Leandre Eisaitl and Moe Seider on defense. Like, they've got some high end talent on that team. So, and Grubauer has been really good in Seattle this year.

If you haven't been able to watch Logan Thompson play a lot, enjoy his ability to read releases. Talk to our listeners right now because it is it's elite. He's always he he's moving into the puck on every shot, whether it's practice or the game. I don't know how he does it, but he's he's ahead of it, on on every release. It's fascinating to watch.

When it when it comes to the rotation so Binnington starts game one. Tough game against the Czechs or anticipated tough game against Czech. Yeah. They play really well. Switzerland, won the the silver medal last year, the world championship.

They're not a slouch. They had metal hopes coming into the tournament, and I don't think they've they've ruined those at all. But could could Canada rotate, or do you think it's Bennington now?

Well, it's a good question. Logan was really good in his game to your point. Like,

I think I think the problem is said if you're ever gonna do it, I feel like then now now now is the time to do it. Santa Cup playoffs, no. But maybe in a tournament like this, you do.

The problem is, you know, again, like, they play very different games. Right? Like and we talked about Binnington's puck handling, and that's not a like, Logan handles the puck fine, but, like, he's not Jordan Binnington. Very few guys are. Right?

Like, not just that he does it so effectively, but the swagger with which he does. Right. Right? The confidence to do it on this stage in these moments to not all of a sudden be like, oh, man, I I don't wanna take any chances today. Like, that's that's just what he brings.

Right? Yeah. So I but if we were to get into a game like like the Americans and they start moving it around East West and really going tic tac toe, like, Logan plays so much deeper. His routes, his path, his patience, as you said off the release, is so exceptional. Like, does he bring you an advantage if that type of game unfolds?

The problem is it's not like there's a prelim and then a chance to meet again in the playoffs. Like, you're only you're only getting the Americans once, and the loser goes home. So hopefully for everyone, well, I shouldn't say this, but, like, because we're in North America here, so apologies to our European listeners. Like, we're kinda looking for that rematch of the four nations in the final. Hopefully, that's where it comes.

So I don't know, Daren. To me, it's probably and this is not a Logan Thompson side. I just gave you the numbers. But to me, it's probably Binnington's net the rest of the way.

InGoalMag.com. Refurbished. InGoalMag.com.

Re engineered. Redesigned. We, we have our annual goalie coach and goalie school directory and guides coming out soon. They have been completely refreshed, in the process. And now if you were to drop by, you would find, compared to last year, much tighter design, much easier to contact coaches, almost instantaneous response times.

And and I'll admit it was a little bit sluggish last year. Much improved search. Just a much, much better experience to go and find the next goalie coach that you would like to work with. So you can check it out today. Those listings will be changing and improving over the next little while as the coaches update their information.

But I would encourage everybody to go and check it out. Really proud of what we did there and we sort of, it turned into a slippery slope from redesigning the directory just kept on going until the entire site was completely redesigned. So we'd love to hear from people if they've had a look, see what they think about it. Just tons more functionality to the site, including what we call membership central. Go hit the my account, link, and you can see how many days in a row you've been on the site, how many ProReads in a row you've checked out, where you rank versus other goalies, other coaches, other parents, just all sorts of cool stuff on the site.

I would be appreciative if you would check it out and send me a note info at InGoalMag dot com and let me know what you think and what you'd like to see next.

Some of us go down rabbit holes, Daren. Like, we, you know, we started looking at something on YouTube, and the next thing you know, we're there for an hour, whether it's goalie equipment or technique. Obviously, we only go down rabbit holes on goaltending. Hutch goes down the rabbit hole of reinventing the entire InGoalmag website. Sleep be damned.

Just works and grinds.

Were you intending to do that or did you just get stuck in the rabbit hole and thought, this is my way to dig myself out?

Well, it's I mean, it's it's one of the things I love to do. So, it it wasn't hard to push myself through it. I had sworn last year, put in a couple of months into making that directory work of some very, very late late nights. And I said, well, it's all put together. Next year is going to be really easy.

We'll just sort of reuse and recycle and instead start it from the ground up. So, yeah. But a but a a great deal of fun and hopefully, not even hopefully, I'm quite confident that this has created something that will be much more useful for all the parents and goaltenders out there.

A one stop shop. Right?

Sure. Hope so. Sure. Hope so. Yeah.

I think so. Lots of great stuff. And and as I said before, over the years, I've been making all these notes. I wish we could do this. I wish we could do that.

And, so basically, I've made almost all of them come true already.

And the beauty is, like, yes, we're in the process and the goalie schools have have you know, if you've gotten notifications in your email, we're updating it for 2026, your chance to make sure your listings are fresh. We've got another second annual goalie gear guide coming out. Sorry. Goalie school guide, which will have, you know, some stories, some editorial, some great editorial lined up with, the legend Mitch Korn for a piece that will be featured in the Goalie School Guide this year. So make sure if you're a school that you contact us, reply to that email, get yourself in there.

But if you're a young goalie or a parent, like, everything's still live. As Hutch said, he's made it so much better, so much easier to access, to search, to do all these things. If you're looking for a goalie school this summer, everybody's listings from last year, like, you'll be able to search geographically or if you're traveling for the summer, you'll be able to search the area you're traveling through, find the dates, and see who's got camps for that. So, all of that functionality is designed as much as we wanna get all the goalie schools on board, especially our partners. It's designed for the end user to make sure that parents have an easier time finding great goaltending coaches this summer.

Gear

NHL Sense Arena feature interview is coming up, as long as the Stop It Goaltending U, the app parent segment, and the Visual Edge ProReads, on the way, but we turn our attention towards the Gear Segment brought to you by the Hockey Shop Source for Sports Langley, the hockeyshop.com. Everybody doing okay over there as we move into the month of February?

Well, if you're headed to the hockey shop over the next little while, please be forewarned that we actually let Cam out. Like, norm normally, he just sleeps in the back and works constantly, but but he's on a little vacay. He's away for a bit. The beauty is everybody else in that goalie department kinda like Cam, but in a good way. They understand the game.

They play the position, and they've been doing this for years. That's the thing. You go to a local sports store, yeah, you might get a goalie. Chances are you won't. You go to a big box equipment store, good chance you're not getting a goalie.

Good chance you're getting some high school kid that's trying to toe drag us on the weekends, not somebody that actually understands the position. When you go to the Hockey Shop Source for Sports and you ask them to talk about goaltending to help you get set up for the goaltending equipment that's going to be perfect for your style, your size, the way you play the game, everybody there can help you out. Combine that with the best selection in all of Canada of new and past generation equipment, part of their 35,000 square foot plus area in that store and the extra storage in the back, make sure you check out the Hockey Shop Source for Sports in Langley, the hockeyshop.com. They've got goalie experts well beyond our good friend Cam Matwiv that can help make sure you get the equipment that's right for your game.

This week, focused on the CCM EFlex 7.5 line.

Yeah. Two you know what? We've we've we've talked about EFlex seven. Great pad, great gloves. We're actually gonna, you know, tease the tease the Hanna Murphy interview.

Somebody likes a floating tee in her CCM gloves, so big fans of that ourselves. So, this week though, we're we're gonna go down two price points. So even a little bit cheaper, easier on your wallet, and Cam's gonna explain some of the differences in materials and durability. And honestly, surprising to me just how many pro level features still continue down all the way to that third price point with the e EFlex 7.5.

Gear Segment, brought to you by The Hockey Shop Source for Sports Langley, The Hockey Shop dot com. Over to Kevin Cam.

EFlex seven is yet again, Cameron, something we've done. This is the second price.

Well, you would know that EFlex seven has knee rolls, so this clearly does not. So you should be able to

tell that this is something different. Oh, that is dumb. So what is it? 7.5 so this is this is third price point down? This is entry level pad?

I would say our opening price point pad.

Holy smokes. There's actually quite a bit to this

for that level of pad. There is. Let's dive in.

Now I understand why I was confused. EFlex. Welcome back to The Hockey Shop Source for Sports. We've got CCM eFlex 7.5 as Cameron mentioned, an entry level pad, blocker, glove combination that you can buy off the wall here, but with some maybe not quite pro level features, but similar to the pro level features. A lot of

richness, I would use the term in terms of on this pad. So as we're looking, flat face design, no knee rolls, still decently flexible, but actually some There's some rigid dirtiness

to it.

Especially in that upper thigh rise. So again, at that opening price point, you usually don't see that kind of out

of out of a core It's actually got the dual light core in it. It does. That's correct.

Okay. Still surprises me, to be honest, at this price point to have that

full dual light core. Usually, those are where the materials start to ship.

Exactly. Exactly. So we got that improved core, 90 degree boot. It's still that's some flex to Some flexure. Yep.

Again, these being fresh off the wall. So they're still at their like most rigid, we would say. Moving on to the back of the pad, strapping system. Reminiscence of what we find in our very 7.9 e flex seven pad. So you're still getting There.

That adaptive fit strap. You get your pillow under here. You still get your cap pillow. You still get that nice air knit leg channel as well. Good wrap to the pad as well, so you can get a nice, like, snug fit.

More of their hex suede type material turns up for the knee cradle. You still get their integration Yeah. With that extra plate too as well. Some connection there. Regular Gen Pro slide surface.

So you're not gonna get their CGT material. I mean, we gotta again take some things out when we go, you know, down to that lower price point for sure.

This the rounded knee, like, that's not part of the E Flex seven.

I hope that would really help when you go to go bring those pads together. Yeah. Just eliminate a little bit. I see if

I rounded there at the top corner. That's interesting.

Clunkiness. Exactly. So boot again, talked about it. It has that 90 degree angle. The regular, the hybrid lace switch out to whatever you So

a lot of the features that you're finding on the The higher end niche flap here is removable with Velcro. Yep. This the thinner elastic behind the knee that can go to either one. If you're gonna go this way, it's not gonna get caught up as much. That's a good note.

Keep in mind, this isn't as thick as what you would find on the 7.9 or EFlex seven. But again, you gotta have some changes somewhere. There is a flap to be able to put in a bootstrap if you wish. It doesn't come stock, but there is the option. So that's always there.

Okay. Blocker? Blocker. Similar, less materials, I'm guessing. Lesser quality of materials, I would say, between the two.

However, again, same overall style of core. You still get that flex motion cup, very lightweight blocker. Great overall feel again for that opening price point. Excellent option.

Club. Bit of a gem. $5.80. $5.80. The way

down to the 7.5. At an opening price point.

That's correct. Not bad.

Yes. So again, for you

guys place.

$5.80 at an opening price point. Deep pocket. Great overall fit right off of the bat. Nice and easy closure. Similar backhand to what we would find.

Again, you're gonna see that sublimation of materials as you go down in the lineup. So I wouldn't say as rich in that sense. You still get that cross form strap that you find as you tear up through their lineup. So, again, great control over the glove, great wrist motion overall. Again, great option at that opening price point.

So my question is obviously, like, significantly cheaper than the highest price point and and even a pretty significant reduction from the second price point.

Correct. What is it for? So I would Sizing, skill?

So thirty two, thirty three, thirty four. So we're in

for pad sizing. Senior sizing.

That's correct. Okay. I would say, you know what? Hey. You're you're recreational goalie.

You're paying one two times a week. You want a $5.80 glove that, like, opening price point. You wanna try a $5.80 glove without investing fully into, you know, what would be that higher. There's a chance there. This pad, to be honest, again, like, I could see this even, you know, playing a little bit more, and I wouldn't say, like, high level, but, like, mid tier would still put up with that kind of thing.

I would start to see probably the glove padding density start to kinda lag behind and, you know, maybe the occasional stinger once you get into that, like, mid level, I would say. But beyond that, I mean, this gear's, like, pretty rich and fantastic for for what it is. So if you're, you know, budget conscious, looking for, you know, some great fit and a five

e Fast growing kids that are not gonna be in it for too long anyways? Exactly. Okay. So if they've got any more specific questions on whether it's gonna work for them, the sizing, what you've got in terms of availability, colors, and sizes, where do they get you?

They can give me a call at (604) 589-8299 or 1-800-567-7790. Or check the website,

thehockeyshop.com. Cam, thanks. EFlex 7.5 entry level price point with a lot higher level features.

You you mentioned floating t and and Hannah Murphy's. For people that don't know, parents, never play the position. Just what what's a floating t? I I like to make sure that people understand everything that we're saying.

Okay. And and we do ask Hannah about it because I spotted it on her gear. So a floating tee is essentially the the tee or of the glove sorta from the edge of the pocket down to the base of the pocket down where it would be sort of between your index finger and your thumb. That's where the t normally gets anchored.

Mhmm.

Now CCM has started offering, in their custom over the I think EFlex seven was the first time to offer that where they don't secure that harder, stiffer material t down around the thumb. It's not secured at the base. So you've actually got more of that. And in in our case, in our custom order, and I absolutely love it, more of the skate lace pocket between the base of your thumb, that anchor point, and where the tee is actually secured. So pucks hit it, and it just like, it absorbs it so much more.

We actually have a still video from a video shoot we did in Parksville with Hutch's son, Matthew. And I went through the video and there's one that he catches clean in the glove in the pocket, not something I'm familiar with, but and you can see that the pocket extends, like, so far back because it's so soft in there. So just it's like a vacuum cleaner. It just sucks up pucks. And rather than hitting any chance of hitting that stiffer tee, they just kind of floats back and sucks it and holds it in.

It's it's a we'll hear Hannah talk about this. It's a pretty cool feeling when when you actually get one in there. Again, little Hutch and and Hannah get a lot more in the pocket than I do, but every once in a while, I get it and it's like, oh, that's a nice feeling.

K. Why would you use it, and why would you not use a floating tee?

You wouldn't use a floating tee if you're in the National Hockey League because it's illegal.

I thought this one was legal, though. No. I thought they said something about making this one legal.

They have a version that might be legal, but the the floating t, the plus one they have a plus one that might be legal, but the floating t, I don't believe is legal in the NHL.

Okay.

Yeah. The the reason to not use one other than the NHL I've heard is it's so soft and absorbs so much of the puck that you just lose a bit of the feel. So it just depends what you're looking for. Some people want to know it sucked in there. Some people want something a little harder, stiffer so they can can feel what they're doing with the puck.

It's for

some reason. If it was easier to get it out to play it. Drop it, play it. I would

think it

might be harder than that.

Get it out. I think it might be harder.

Yep. Yeah. But see, again, for me, that's that's irrelevant because nobody wants me playing the puck. So I just want to stay in there. Damn it.

And boy, does it stay in there. I imagine if you caught it close enough to your face, you might actually have that

You might get hit.

Might get hit. It's a it really That's a mask.

It's That'd be funny.

It's unreal. And it is like and you'll hear

That's happened to me before.

You'll hear Hannah talk about it, man. It's a it's it's a buttery feel. Once you've felt it, you're kinda like, oh, yeah. I like that.

Beautiful. Look forward to it. The Vizual Edge ProReads brought to us by Vizual Edge. We'll get to UPL in just a little bit.

Do you want the puck to look like a beach ball? Daren does. We've all had that night here and there where everything looks bigger. The puck looks huge. You're ahead of every play.

You feel calm, patient. You're in total control of your game. Then there are the nights where you're a half step late. You see it, but you're not really seeing it. You're reaching, you're guessing, you're fighting the puck.

That's not your technique. It's your eyes and your brain not processing the play fast enough. Vizual Edge fixes that. It measures how well your eyes track and process the game, then gives you a custom plan that trains improvement. Three fifteen minute sessions a week on your laptop or tablet.

It's what NHL goalies use to make the game slow down when it matters most. And because Vizual Edge is the presenting sponsor of ProReads, if you are an InGoal premium member, you go to any ProReads on our website, you will have a double discount code for Vizual Edge. For the rest of you, I would ask why not? Why aren't you already a member? That discount code alone will save you enough money to cover a membership pretty quickly.

But if not, we still got a discount for you using the code InGoal, I n g o a l, all caps. Either one will save you. If you're a member, you save more. Make sure to check out that members only discount at the ProReads section at ingoalmag.com.

So you got UPL walking through some things with the guy that was supposed to be at the Olympic game training.

I know. I know. I felt bad that I was like, dude, do we do we do we hold this one? I'm like, no. Like, I I love UPL.

Every time I get the chance to talk to this guy, I learn something about the game. He's a real student of it. Loved having this is our second time having him in ProReads. And just so, yeah, you feel like, you feel bad for anyone that misses the Olympics. For him, it's a lower body injury.

Like, that's so tough. But they've got such a good thing going right now in Buffalo. Obviously, Alex Lyon, another frequent guest on our ProReads segment. Colten Ellis is is, you know, been a great waiver claim for them, but UPL is a big part of this. And so you just hope that as much as you hate to see him miss the Olympics, that he'll be there for what promises to be a really exciting time in Buffalo down the stretch.

So, really enjoyed this ProReads, we're talking about a walkout out of the corner with a backdoor pass option, which UPL identifies right away. So if you've got someone, say a right shot coming off the left wall down near the goal line attacking, puck above the goal line though, but just down on a sharp angle and a pass threat pretty much open. Two things, Daren. Are you tucking inside your post in reverse? Are you squaring up?

How are you managing the short side first of all? What's what what are you guys doing?

I'm RVH. Hutch?

I should probably be standing. Let's be honest.

Okay. You're not six foot five like UPL, which we also we we mentioned not everyone will play this the same way. Second, if the pass is made, what's your route? Where are you going with that push? Let's say somebody's coming downhill and they're going to be inside the bottom, like basically on a line between the face off dot and that far post sort of that inside edge of the far circle.

What's your what's your route? Where are you going with that push?

I would like to be out towards them, but I'm probably going straight across.

Post to post? Yeah. Okay. Well, we get those answers. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen in this latest ProReads.

I'm not gonna give them away. I can see Hutch. He's just waiting for me to start talking too much and give them all away. Folks, you gotta check it out at ingoalmag.com. UPL does a great job of explaining how he plays it and those particular questions around a play like this.

Again, I know you're not all six foot five like him, but he does a really nice job of explaining why he plays it the way he does, why he chooses the route he does. And it's just it it's just the kind of detail and thoughtful analysis, that we hope to have a lot more of from UPL over the years. Because like I said, every time I get to talk to him, it's a real joy. He is he is clearly a kid that loves the position and and not surprised that he's continuing to excel at it.

K. Follow-up question.

Yes, sir.

If the player is walking out from the left side above the goal line, but just above the goal line Mhmm. So for those of us that, are catch with our left hands, walking out from our glove side, and there's a pass option across the crease. I've seen guys who put their sticks out deflect the puck and not have it five hole. Like, they're they're almost in an RVH, but or a butterfly, but they're using their stick to to protect the lane and leaving that five hole just to the pads. Are you up are you up for that?

I think it would, so not really a part of this one because of where that pass option is. The pass option is high enough up

Okay. That I can doing that.

I don't think he could intercept that one. Right? And now I want now you got me wanting to go back and look at it. Now I think it's a great question. I think it's a great point.

There are certainly times like, if that puck is has to come through your crease that close to you to get to your pass option, you've read that. I would think that that's, you know, break breaking that preventing a backdoor one timer versus having to make a save on a backdoor one timer. I'm I'm taking the prevention.

Yeah. The risk And leaving the five hole if the guy person shoots, you're you just trust your pads.

I mean, you're hoping I mean, again, UPL probably a lot of these guys at that level can go post to post and have the whole the whole bottom of the ice sealed. Yeah. You wanna make sure after any push that you're regathering that push leg and getting getting it underneath you. You know, even the transition, like, if you miss with the stick, don't forget the guy shooting at the other end. Like, it's not just beating the puck to his blade.

That puck has to come back at you. So there is a chance to pull that stick back in. The biggest thing to me, and this is a part of NHL prescouts a lot in terms of of post play, the guys that start to reach. Flower used to do this a lot. Marc-Andre Fleury, and it cost him in the playoffs.

And for sure, I know teams had identified it. You get down below the goal line in around the net and pop passes, making sure you elevated the pop passes, put a little sauce on them because he was always trying to cut them off with a stick. But especially on the blocker side, that well, actually, both sides. That reach with the stick Yeah. Delays your coverage.

And so if it's taking you out of your coverage too much, I think five hole you can typically manage unless you're as narrow as as I am. But, you know, you gotta be really careful. It's a fine line between intercepting a pass and taking yourself right out of the play. We see guys get that stick outside of the post and reach outside of the post and basically take their whole upper body outside of the net if they aren't able to cut it off.

Yeah. There's some coaches that will expect you to stop anything that's going through the blue, that is the goalie's responsibility in some systems. But just to echo what Kevin's saying, it can't be an all or nothing thing and it can't be so in the goalie's head that you're lunging for things. You can't be losing your balance because I think in almost everything we do, you have to be leaving yourself another option if things don't work out. What what are you gonna do if you don't get that pocket?

If it's lunging forward for it, well, you're just gonna watch it go in the net.

ProReads brought to us by Vizual Edge, one of the coolest things over at ingoalmag.com. There's nothing like it, as detailed as what InGoal gives you, with the goaltenders themselves, so walking you through safe selection. People can break down plays, but this is through their own eyes of of the goaltender looking at their own production. Stop It Goaltending U, the app, presents our parent segment, and we'll get to Hutch in just a little bit as we talk about, things that are happening with our friends over at Stop It Goal Tending.

Well, Daren, first off, let's give a quick thank you to all the goalies like Hockey Sense who give us the time to walk through the plays and like, ProReads, you're right. There's nothing like it, and there wouldn't be anything like it if we didn't have so many NHL goalies that are so generous and wanting to sort of share their knowledge with other goalies. And speaking of shared knowledge, that's what you get with the Stop It Goaltending U app. You want twenty five years of NHL goalie coaching experience at your fingertips? You wanna tap into the goalie parenting expertise that helped Joey Daccord reach the NHL?

That's what you get with a subscription to Stop It Goaltending U, the app. All the knowledge from Brian Daccord, who's been an NHL goalie coach, scout, and director, as well as all the insights and expertise from his staff at Stop It, which includes a long list of established veteran NCAA coaches, all delivered in easy to digest chunks, including five short daily primers each week, weekly style analysis, and breakdown videos, as well as drills that you can take onto the ice with your team and coach. Plus, you get a subscription to InGoal Magazine with every subscription to Stop It Goalie Stop It Goaltending U, the app. InGoal Premium, Stop It Goaltending U, the app, combined, the best of both worlds. Make sure you check it out at the App Store or Google Play and get access to both great things.

Parent Playbook

Cofounder of ingoalmag.com. It's David Hutchison.

Thank you, Daren. Today, we're talking about The Car Ride Home Playoff Edition. We've, we've talked about The Car Ride Home before, and most of you know the basics. I will actually point out that Brian Daccord has a great article on InGoal about The Car Ride Home. He's actually got a bit of a different take on it than most of you would think.

Just tease you with that one and suggest you go search it out over at ingoalmag.com and see what Brian has to say about the car ride home. So the basics, you don't coach, you don't critique, you let your kids lead. But playoffs, they have a way of making us forget everything that we already know. Emotions are bigger. The games feel like they matter more.

And suddenly, that twenty minute drive home, it becomes a bit of a minefield for us. Whether your goalie just made 30 saves in a win or let in the one that ended the night. The core problem is playoffs change the temperature for parents. By the way, guys, you might be thinking to yourselves that it's a little crazy I'm talking about playoffs because you live in the NHL world, but for a lot of minor hockey organizations, they are in playoffs. Some teams are done already.

Crazy, it seems to me in the February.

I cover the Canucks, Hutch. I'm like, playoffs?

Yeah. That too. Anyway, during the regular

season, That was funny.

Yeah. It was. It was good. During the says the cocky guy from Vegas. During the regular season, every game blends together.

But in elimination hockey, things get amplified. It's a big win and you wanna celebrate every save. It's a tough loss and you wanna jump in there as a parent and fix it. Both impulses come from the same place of course and that's that we all care. But both can also create problems.

So after a great game, you're really tempted to pile on the praise. You were amazing. That glove save in the second, unbelievable. And we all do it and it feels harmless, but here's the thing. When you go big after a win, you set a standard.

Your goalie starts to wonder what it sounds like when you don't say those things. Silence after the next game might suddenly mean something to them that it shouldn't. So here's the advice. First, be the same parent after every game. That's the goal.

Same energy after a shutout, same energy after a five goal night. Your goalie should never have to guess which version of you is picking them up. Consistency is what makes you safe. I'm not saying be boring. I'm not saying don't care, but let's try and be consistent.

Second, let them set the tone. If they're pumped, you can be pumped with them. If they're quiet, let just be comfortable in that quiet and let them be themselves. If they want to break down every goal, then listen. Your job isn't to steer the conversation, it's to meet them where they are.

Third, watch your body language. You might not say a word, but if you're either bouncing off the walls or white knuckling that steering wheel on the way home, they're gonna feel it. Your energy becomes their energy. Take a breath before you start the car, win or lose. Fourth, don't make any single game bigger than it is.

That's advice I've given before. Right? Long before the car ride home, the night before a playoff game, don't be saying it's a big game tomorrow. Better get to bed early. We want them to learn how to be the same energy all the time.

A playoff win is exciting. A season ending is sad. Both emotions are allowed, but neither defines your kid. The way you react to the highs and lows teaches them how to frame all of it for the rest of their playing career and and away from the rink too. So to close it up, here's the thing about the car ride home in the playoffs.

Your goalie is learning how to handle pressure, big moments, high stakes situations. It's an unbelievable life skill. And the biggest influence on how they learned to carry those moments, it's you.

Your goalie is learning how to handle pressure, big moments, high stakes situations. It's an unbelievable life skill. And the biggest influence on how they learned to carry those moments, it's you. So be steady, be present, and be the same parent in that car no matter what the scoreboard said. That's the real win.

Play offs.

You know you know what Hutch basically just told us, Woody?

What's up?

Junior's going home with mom. We'll we'll just have to set the fire.

Yeah. I know. All I heard when he said consistent, I'm like, okay. So silent treatment. What?

You know what I used to do? I I would I would be at, like, Wendy's for the frosty after bad games, and I I think she thought it was better to be have the off games than the good games because we didn't get the frosty after good games. I was all excited. I wanna get home and talk about it.

I'm glad you frosty because we do that too.

I'm building her up with the frosty and everything like that,

and she's like, this is cool.

I'm I'm consistent, Daren. Oh, you frosty win or lose? Yo. Jeez. Yeah.

We gotta celebrate frosty. Had a tough game frosty. Let's go.

Good for you. Except for when the ice cream machine's down, which at one of the establishments is every

day. You're coming out of a cold rink as a parent, like, huddled in there trying to stay warm and you're getting a frosty post game?

I do like my frosties.

Love them. Chocolate frosty.

Never had a frosty post game. Never. Really?

No. Think I had one last week.

When's your next skate?

My wife's a little bit of a health freak. Let's not we well, you just We definitely didn't take the kids for Frostys. Let me tell you that.

Just make sure you throw out the cups.

You missed out.

We were we were more you know what? Honestly, I was a little more Brad Marchand. I was a Dairy Queen Blizzard guy, but it was never sort of necessarily a post game thing.

He's a little bit more che che Vancouver, and they go for sushi after the games. I bet you anything.

Well, that's just dinner.

Our NHL Sense Arena feature interview this week is Hannah Murphy. Before we get to, Hannah, tell us what's happening at NHL Sensorina.

NHL Sense Arena has got some pretty cool stuff going on because one of the things they do is they react to everything that's going on. You know, outdoor game, you get the outdoor rink in Sense Arena. Well, speaking of helping your young goalie build confidence heading into the playoffs, one of the best ways to do it is getting extra reps without the extra ice time. And that's what NHL Sense Arena's virtual reality training platform does for you. And right now, with the winter games in full swing as we talked about, Sense Arena's rolled out USA and Canada themed challenges.

So always reacting like I said, cool stuff in the headset. Go try some of these challenges. There's a brand new Team USA gauntlet to sharpen your hands, and, yes, goalies can do the hands exercises. You can get real shots from US national team development program players in the, in the game flow module. And, for us Canadians as well, they've even got a Canadian challenge gauntlet loaded with surprises, including having to stick handle around a Canada goose or the cobra chicken as some people likes to call them up here.

I think a lot of Canadians wouldn't try and stick handle around the cobra chicken. They'd probably be trying to go through it. Pretty dangerous creatures though. Anyway, go check out all the awesome new challenges which are all set up around the winter games that are on right now. It's a great way to stay sharp between playoff games without the pressure of a game or a team practice.

Check it out at sensearena.com and as always, the code I g m 50 at checkout to save even more.

Woody. Well, like, first off, the cobra chickens, the the Canada geese, I might have to practice that because it's, you know, as I mentioned the other day, play or the other minute, playoffs. Like, it's almost golf season here in Vancouver, and my balls always send seem to end up near a crowd of Canada geese. We've got

I've never heard the cobra chicken thing. No? No.

It's been in The States too long. I think it's relatively new.

There's a there's a great, great guy. I I don't know where he's out of. I think Kopke 619519, something like that. Look him up. It's all Canadian humor.

And, the cobra chicken is I learned that from him. Great stuff to go check out, Daren.

867-5309. That's that's who it is.

Nick the goalie. Nick the goalie. Nick the goalie had had cobra chicken jerseys like he played on a beer league team. Was the chickens. Yeah.

I believe so. Yeah.

It's such a great on, Nick.

Just reminded me, not the cobra chicken, but it spun off into my brain. Akira Schmid in the Canada game, team Switzerland.

The scorpion chicken?

Scorpion. Like and it was full on, like, lift the leg, and the only way he stopped that puck is by doing the scorpion. It was it was outstanding.

Oh, and by the way, it was a breakaway by some guy named Sidney Crosby too.

Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. To keep them in the game. So, yeah. Okay.

Well, we've gone all over the place on this. And I did wanna add really quickly, because there's only two weeks left in this. For the month of February, NHL Sense Arena is just $3.99. I believe that's a US price for a full year of access. It's their lowest price ever, and it is the month of February only.

Feature Interview - Hannah Murphy

So make sure you check that out as well as your IGM 50 discount code on top of it. So check that out. And now check out Hannah Murphy, who is having a heck of a first season with the PWHL Seattle Torrent. Really jumped onto the scene, got them their first win, at home. Great crowd.

She talks about that. She talks about her experience playing against Montreal and and Ann-Renu00e9e Desbiens and Poulin and some of the greats and a big win there. Like, she's had some incredible memories. She is, like, four months in, five months into her PWHL career coming out of Colgate, and she's got lots of great stories. Clearly, a really thoughtful, insightful goaltender, shared some great tips on managing big moments, talk about playoffs, managing big crowds, games that feel bigger, some of the things she's learned over the years.

Just just a fantastic interview and somebody I think we're gonna be hearing from for a long time, both in the PWHL and also as part of future Canada national team program. So this is a fantastic interview. I hope everyone enjoys it. Really excited to welcome to the InGoal Radio Podcast, first time guest. I'm hoping it's one of many as she starts her PWHL career, PWHL rookie, and off to a roaring start, Hannah Murphy.

Hannah, thank you so much for joining us today.

Yeah. Thank you so much for having me. I'm really excited.

It feels like it's been a whirlwind for you coming out of Colgate, getting drafted, moving across the country to Seattle, and then the start you've had. What's what's this been like? Can you reflect on the last six months? Have you had a chance during this break even to sort of look back at at at the way things have started for you?

Yeah. I think a whirlwind whirlwind is probably a pretty good way to describe it. Honestly, just so much in such a short amount of time, graduating from Colgate last spring, like you said, and then entering the draft and, getting picked up by Seattle across the continent from, you know, my hometown, And then moving here to a new city and just immediately being accepted by the fans and the community and then being able to get into my first couple games and helping the team get a couple more wins has really been an awesome experience. You know, being surrounded by so many talented players on an everyday basis is unbelievable and it's been so much fun so far.

Is there a moment that stands out? I mean, you backstop the first win in franchise history, the first home win, 8,600 fans. Like, there's a lot of things that you've been a part of over the last little while. Is there one that jumps out to you?

Yeah. I've gotta say, my first start, which also happened to be our first home win, hearing the crowd when we finally were able to, you know, break it open and score there in the third, and then to get the go ahead goal and end up winning was just unbelievable. It was like nothing I'd ever experienced. Hearing the roar of the crowd was seriously amazing.

You you played in front of some big crowds at Colgate, but probably not to that degree. So let's let's take this to an advice standpoint. Like, for for a young athlete in a pressure packed moment, and you've had those, I know, in playoffs in the e c a sorry. ECHL easy for me. ECAC.

Mhmm. That how do you how do you handle those pressure moments? Are there things you've learned over the years that allow you to sort of manage all the pressure, the atmosphere, and still play your best? Any tips you can pass along to the young goalies listening?

It really is the same game and it's the preparation that allows you to feel calm in those big moments, whether it's a certain thing that you do pregame leading up to the opening face off, those kind of routines stay consistent and allow me to stay grounded in those big moments.

Yeah. I think just focusing on that next save and, really implementing good routines, is something that I've built upon, throughout my career. I know with so many people in the stands, it's easy to get lost in that noise but it really is the same game and it's the preparation that allows you to feel calm in those big moments, whether it's a certain thing that you do pregame leading up to the opening face off, those kind of routines stay consistent and allow me to stay grounded in those big moments.

Anything any ones that you've developed over the years that you're comfortable sharing in terms of things that ground you, especially even within a game? Do you have a reset mechanism?

Maybe not necessarily a reset, but something I go into each game is, like, having three keys or three things that I wanna focus on. Whether it's my stance, having a good eye lead, that sort of thing. Three pillars that I know if I execute on those three points, that I'm gonna find success in that game.

Do they evolve over time? Do like, do they stay the same for a couple weeks, or do you try and pick new ones every game?

Not necessarily new ones every game. I think it's relevant probably to what I'm working on at the time. But I think, overarchingly, they're pretty simple things. I don't wanna overcomplicate things in game at all. So something just as simple as, you know, even touching my posts regularly to reset and find myself squareness in the net.

Oh, it's great because we like, it's so easy to say next shot, like, next shot mentality, whether it's pro golf or pro goaltending. Like, it's the easiest thing to say and sometimes the hardest thing to do. So it's neat that you found little things that help you get there. Have you worked with sports psychologists, anyone along the way to sort of help you find those things, or are these just things you learn from teammates, things you've developed yourself over the years?

Yeah. I guess I've definitely talked to sports sites over the years, but I think this is something that I kind of developed on my own from working with different goalie coaches. I love taking input from different coaches, but also teammates. I've been fortunate enough to play with a lot of really talented goaltenders over the years and finding things that I can learn from them. I'm always trying to adopt new things to get better.

Okay. I know you've had I wanted to ask you a little bit about Kaley Osborne at, obviously, at Colgate and playing with her, but let let's rewind a little bit. Like Mhmm. How did you become a goalie? We talk about teammates. I understand your older sister was a goalie.

Was that the inspiration?

I think so. Yeah. Growing up, wanting to get in the net because of my older sibling, but then once I got in the net, I loved it. And I want to say, I think, I always had a really competitive side to me growing up, and I loved that we got to play the whole game and you could really have an impact on whether or not your team won or lost. And I happened to be pretty decent at it from start, so that probably played a big role and then I never took the pads off after that.

Do you do you is that necessary? Like, do you have to be somebody that embraces? Because with the sort of the the fact that everybody relies on you, there's pressure. You can either see it as pressure or you can see it as an opportunity. Like, do think we have to have that innately, that desire to be that last line of defense as they say?

Especially in goaltending when it can be a little bit of an isolating position, and you don't always have your teammates there, to talk to you after a shift or in between plays, you're kind of on a bit of an island. So something that, you know, maybe goaltenders have to develop a little bit more so.

I think a little bit. I think growing up, maybe if you talk to my parents, they would call me a little bit stubborn. And I think that's something that really helped me when it came to being in the net, you know, that competitive side that never wanted to let the other team score and do anything that I could to help our team win. I think every competitor in any sport has that kind of within them, but especially in goaltending when it can be a little bit of an isolating position, and you don't always have your teammates there, to talk to you after a shift or in between plays, you're kind of on a bit of an island. So something that, you know, maybe goaltenders have to develop a little bit more so.

That that that compete is is innate in some can you do you think you can teach it as well? Like, do you think you can develop it through different drills, different competitive different is there are there other ways to develop it, is it just gotta be in you?

That's a great point. I think perhaps it can evolve as you grow a love for the game. Like, something that maybe when I was younger, I just played for fun and had that love of the game. But as you get a little bit older, there's maybe more at stake and you have that kind of competitiveness. But I would say for the most part, it's kind of an innate thing that people just have in them, whether it's, you know, a will to win or they kind of don't care as much about the game.

And I think all those best competitors really do have a deep desire within them to win.

Okay. So other than big sister, who, like, who was your goalie growing up? Who was the person that you, you know, you watched most often or and maybe even as you got older, tried to emulate, got to that point where you watched them, whether it was on television or at a local rink, and wanted to play like them?

I'm gonna have to say that Jersey, actually, behind you is kind of my answer for this question. Carey Price, growing up, was always someone. I see you also have a Luongo jersey who was probably

There's a Lundqvist back there too.

Lundqvist, you know, pretty all around talented goalies. But for me, it was Carey Price. I just loved his style of play. And I think as I've gotten older, that's someone that I try to emulate my game after a lot. I know not playing anymore.

But when I was growing up, he was huge. Playing for the Canadians. My dad said that I could always, play like Carey Price, but not cheer for him, growing up in a household where we are not Canadian fans. But, yeah, I I love his calmness in the net. Just his execution on the most technical things is unbelievable.

What and like the movement too. Like, it just he made everything look effortless, which is it kinda goes back to that one shot at a time thing. It's really easy to say. It's really easy to say, I wanna do that. But when you're emulating his game, like, what kind of things were you looking at to try and play like him?

Because he did make it look easier than it probably was sometimes.

Mhmm. I think just every single movement that he made, it was as simple as it could be and not over complicated. I think you definitely have that athleticism, but it's not something that you necessarily have to use as a goaltender all the time if you're in the right positions. I think that's something that as I've gotten older, I've tried to do a lot. You know, whether it's covering rebounds or putting your rebounds into good spots so that you don't have to make crazy athletic saves and just to have that ability to slow the game down, when your team needs a little bit of a reset.

So starting with him and coming towards now and as a pro and through college and and minor hockey, how has your game evolved? How would you describe your game to somebody who hasn't seen it that much, to a fellow goalie, or they ask you how you play? How does Hannah Murphy describe her game?

I would say I'm a pretty calm technical goaltender. I definitely play a more positional game, but I do think that at times, I would throw that out the window just to make a save. So I guess that kind of competitiveness in me would be a defining part of my game as well.

Balancing that can be difficult, like knowing when to stay within your technique and then when to sort of down nine one one, open the car doors and go. How do you find that balance?

I think at times, especially moving to the next level, the game feels so fast that you think that you have to, you know, move so much quicker than you do. But I guess something that I've really focused on is like scanning to know scanning the ice and knowing the next potential threat. You know, not only who has the puck and, you know, what that threat looks like, but who their passing options are and what could potentially happen as the next play is a big part of my game, to be able to stay calm and kind of slow the game down.

Can it be tempting sometimes? You you mean, you're you're in your first year in the PWHL, you're taking this huge step. Sometimes goalies at every I even know goalies ten years into their NHL careers who always felt like the playoffs started and they had to do more. Is it hard to sort of trust that you don't have to change your game and then, like, sometimes it's about doing less at the next level?

Yeah. I think it can be hard at times, but I guess, it all comes back to the preparation and practice. Yeah. And knowing that if I can do things to be successful in practice, I know that it'll translate to a game. And we have some of the best in the world on our team.

So I know that, you know, whoever I'm facing in the game isn't gonna be any more talented than what I see on an everyday basis.

What's that like in practice facing the best in the world every day?

It is pretty cool to have, you know, Hillary Knight, five time Olympian now coming down on you. And it's just so cool as an athlete to, you know, be around that every day to have that push you to the next level and you know that you're getting the best.

Was there was there a moment at the beginning where, you know, like, that sort of welcome to the PWHL or a pinch me moment when you the first time you faced that? I mean, obviously, you would have faced elite players in college as well, but did it feel any different?

Maybe a little bit. I think as a Canadian, perhaps playing against Montreal for the first time was that little bit of a pinch me moment, you know, to have Poulin coming down, and Stacey's two really generational players for the Canadian national team and then to play against Ann-Renu00e9e Desbiens, who is someone that I've really grown to admire. Her style of game as well, I would say, is pretty similar to Carey Price. And if you ask me currently who's my favorite goalie to watch, it would have to be her. Yeah.

So that was a little bit of a surreal moment as a Canadian. I know Hillary is awesome too and such a talented player and teammate, but, I guess I have a little bit of a soft spot for those Canadian players.

And kind of like a welcome to the league moment playing against them. That's great. And coming out with the two one victory, a late two one victory, another one for you on that one. Was that I was gonna ask where that ranked on the highlights early this season.

Yeah. That's gotta be, you know, up there in terms of the top moment playing against, you know, the the best in the world, arguably some of the best to ever do it, and then coming out with a victory was surreal.

So Do you Yeah. Do you do you look at Ann-Renu00e9e's get like, when I watch Ann-Renu00e9e, like, her her efficiency, her technical game is just it it's elite. Do you look at, like, do you look at it in the same way? Do you do you look at your peers in the league or your teammates and try and like, is there a communication back and forth? Your goal like, are you trying as much as you have your game? Do you still try and emulate in any way other goalies, or is it a matter of sticking with, you know, what your foundation is?

Yeah. I feel like I always try and take bits and pieces of other people's games that I can kind of recreate and just to decipher what works for me and what doesn't. I'm always willing to try something new. So whether it's a smaller, you know, more athletic goalie like Aerin Frankel or a big technical goalie like Ann-Renu00e9e, I'm always trying to take different things from their game. So whether I'm, you know, in game watching someone from the other side of the ice or sitting at home watching these games on TV, I'm always looking for things that I can add into my own game for sure.

Who are some of your influences from a coaching side? And when, like, when did goalie coaching, when did you get exposure to that? When did it go from, you know, just going out and playing, as you said, to being something you thought through a little more? And, you know, I I I read that you played a ton of other sports growing up. How important was that, do you think, to to sort of maintain that balance?

Yeah. I think playing a bunch of sports really just helped me to develop as an athlete and become more well rounded, whether it was, you know, basketball, volleyball. I kind of did it all throughout high school and didn't necessarily specialize in hockey or commit to that exclusively until a little bit later on. And I think it just makes me a better player in all facets of the game. Reaction time, you know, quickness, agility, it all translates.

I think playing growing up playing in, like, the Greater Toronto area, we did have a lot of access to goaltending coaches. So I had a plethora throughout my time in minor hockey. And then going to college, we worked with Chris Cobb at Top Prospect Goaltending. And then now Sheldon is our team goalie coach here in Seattle. And I was fortunate enough to work with him a little bit with the national development team a couple of summers ago.

So he's someone that's pretty familiar with my game and I really like his style of coaching. So it's been a great fit here in Seattle. And then talking about those different influences, we have CJ and Schroeds who are both a little bit shorter and a little bit taller than me. So I think all three of us have our own kind of unique styles of gameplay. So I love watching them in our goalie sessions as well, given that we all have to play differently.

Lot of talk. Like, do you guys compare notes? Are you talking about the differences between how you play even situationally? Like, as you learn the league being new to it, tactically, maybe not technically gonna play the same way, but some of the tactical decisions.

Yeah. I guess not as much of it is necessarily us talking about it all the time, but it's just kinda something that you see maybe would ask probably Sheldon more often than not about those kind of differences between our style of game, whether we play it on the post differently and overlap versus an RVH, that sort of thing, Or kind of movement or positioning depth and that kind of stuff in the crease. But I think it's mostly observed and talked about. We've done a couple sessions where we all discuss different plays and that sort of thing. So a little bit of everything, I guess.

What's been the biggest change? I mean, it's a pretty physical game. There's a lot of traffic. Mhmm. What's been the biggest adjustment for you at at that level coming out of college?

I think the biggest adjustment, kinda like you mentioned, has gotta be the net front play and just the amount of screened in front, but also the finesse that players have. Once they get the puck on those rebounds, they're really able to change the angle, elevate, to a much greater extent than college, and then even the ability of players to tip pucks. They don't just wait for the puck to come to them. You know? They go out and, you know, change the angle when you might not exactly expect it.

So being able to anticipate that, and putting yourself in a position where you're able to make saves.

When you it's funny when you mention elevate off rebounds. Like, does does it change for you? Like, in college, hey. All I had to do was get a pad over there, and I was usually okay. Now I've gotta make sure I get a push and get some, you know, hand in support, glove over pad coverage. Is that, like, that the type of thing where it's like, okay. They're doing this. I better make sure I'm doing that.

Yeah. For sure. Like, making sure to have seals, trying to get my whole body in positions to, you know, make blocking saves so that I'm in good position for a pass auction or different things. Yeah. It's definitely different.

And there's things that maybe I could get away with in college that at this level, the players are too good.

It's a lot. It's a big adjustment. How much how much are you leaning on video?

Quite a bit. I think in practice, we do a little bit, but mostly that game film, I think, when you're actually in those game situations is when you're able to learn the most. So I think with every game that I've played, I've gained a lot of confidence. We kinda talked about, like, slowing the game down. And I think with each game, I've kind of settled in a little bit more and have stopped kind of trying to rush the game or rush my game to keep up.

And I know that I can, you know, play the way that I always have and be successful.

I was gonna say, it's another one of those lines in goaltending that's super easy to say from my couch, really hard to do in the crease, but let the game come to you. Right? It's it's Yeah. It it's harder to do than it is to say. That's probably where the visuals come in.

You talked about look offs. Have you had to pick different spots on the ice where you're taking those full zone, three quarter zone scans? Mhmm.

I think that's something that, I guess, I really started doing in college. So coming in, I felt pretty prepared in that sense. Okay. Scanning off the post, on entry, different stuff like that is something that I had already kind of incorporated into my game. So that's been a really helpful skill when transitioning to this league and adjusting to the speed.

It feels a lot slower when you already know where players are moving and what's gonna happen.

It feels a lot slower when you already know where players are moving and what's gonna happen.

So don't just go into the post when you're making an entry or already you're you're scanning as you go. Like, the the moves that are automatic for you, you're adding a visual awareness element to it.

For sure.

I love that. I love that. It's a great lesson for young goalies. I running short on time here. I don't wanna take up too much, I did wanna ask a little bit about Colgate. Like, not just the exceptional career you had. Like, nine thirty seven say percentage, seventy three sixteen and one.

Like, those are video game numbers. But doing it with Kaley there, like, how tough would like, you were both elite goaltenders. She's been on the show before. To have both of you there at the same time, how did you manage that? Because you mentioned the word competitive, you know, you both probably wanted to start more than you ended up doing while you were both there.

How'd you how'd you make sure it was a growth opportunity for both of you?

Yeah. I think going in, maybe I was a little bit naive to the fact that she was such a talented goaltender, and I wasn't necessarily just gonna be given the net. It was something that I was gonna have to earn, and I was lucky to play as much as that that I did. But I think in the same way that I like learning from CJ and here in Seattle, I love learning from Kaley at Colgate, you know, being able to see her on the ice every day and do our goalie sessions together, really helped me to grow as a goaltender. And I think, in a lot of ways, I took things from her game and tried to implement that, and it only helped us both, I think, in the long run.

Where does the puck handling come from? Because I hear you're really good with it.

Yeah. I think that's something that Kaley and I both worked on a lot throughout our time at Colgate. Our coach for my first three years, Greg Fargo, now the coach of New York, he was also a goalie when he played and puck play was something that he really encouraged and we really incorporated into our systems. So that helped me to grow a lot in that area that we just hammered it every day for, you know, four years. And now I'm able to use that skill in the next level.

I love that. So I'm guessing having a goalie that's building the systems around goalies who handle the puck also means he probably encourage you to have because that's one of our biggest pet peeves here is all the coaches want goalies that handle the puck, but they never wanna let them handle it and and be okay with waking the odd mistake. Was that part of the process? Like, it's okay to make one. Don't stop doing it?

Yes. For sure. And to have that kind of support and encouragement from the coaching staff was really what helped me feel confident out there for sure.

That's a great any coaches listening, that's a great lesson. You can't ask them to handle it if you're not gonna let them handle it. Last one last season at Colgate, you're a captain. Now I'm familiar with goalies as captains here in the National Hockey League when Roberto Luongo was one in Vancouver. How did you manage that?

Because it's a different role.

Yeah. It was different for sure, especially as a goalie, you know. You're not there all the time to see what happens on the bench. Right. But I think having media timeouts, oddly enough, was something that really helped me to stay involved with the team and really get a feel for it.

But I think just leading from my style of play was a huge contributing factor towards team success. You know, with my style of play being able to calm things down, we had a lot of a younger team at Colgate in my last year. We graduated a lot of really talented players, but to give them a second to breathe when, you know, maybe they were feeling that pace of the game, like I mentioned earlier, I think really contributed to a lot of our success. And we were able to win a lot despite, you know, not maybe having the same talent in the room that we had in years prior.

It's funny you talk about that. I've I've had other goalies asking about world junior championships, playoff games, the importance of knowing when to eat a puck, when to just make sure you take a whistle when you can see your team swimming a little bit and give them that chance to have a controlled face off and take a deep breath. Like, that's an important lesson for goalies.

Yeah. For sure. That I think that was huge. Just to know that our defense felt okay and comfortable to make mistakes because I was there to kind of bail them out at times in the same way that I felt comfortable making puck handling mistakes because I knew that our coaches were supporting me.

Love that mindset. I do have one more. I are you a gear geek? Do you love the equipment, or are you just more, hey. I get it and I wear it?

Because I I thought I saw there's a picture of Colgate where I could have sworn I saw a floating tee on a on a glove.

Yes. That is maybe the one thing that I'm kind of big into. I get my gloves modified every year. So I started doing that when I went to Colgate, and I really like it a lot.

You got somebody you wanna shout out for doing the modifications?

Yeah. I think it's Goaliemod as the company name. And so I send my gloves out and they break them in and then do that modification to add the floating tea. And my gloves just close like butter after that. So

Okay. So not not necessarily a gear geek, but we do have one little thing that you need.

Yeah. I think over the years, maybe there's a couple little things like that that I've grown to love despite not necessarily being a huge gear head.

Okay. Okay. I love that. And CCM started adding the floating tee as a stock or or stock custom for Joe Bloe's like us this year, and we we ordered one. And when a puck hits that floating tee, it's like a vacuum cleaner and it's so it's the best feeling in the world.

It just kinda sucks it right in. It's

Oh, I know. It's awesome. Like, sometimes you don't even realize that you caught the puck. Like, it just sticks in there. So, yeah, I would definitely give that as a recommendation for something to try out.

Alright. Hannah Murphy, Floating T fan. Thank you so much for taking the time to talk with us today. Really enjoyed this conversation. I know all the goalies and goalie parents and listen to this quite often on the ways to tournaments over the weekends and things like that.

They're gonna get so much out of this, and I'm so grateful for you taking the time and sharing it with us today.

Yeah. Thank you so much for having me. This was awesome.

Outro

Floating t. Now I'm thinking, can I can I just adjust my glove to put a floating t in?

It's done.

You that's what she just said. She that's how she started it. She sends her gloves away, gets it back. It's like butter, including the floating tea. But as I said, see we have one only because CCM now offers it as part of their customizer.

How hard would it be for me to do it?

I mean, I don't know. Daren, you know what? I'm gonna be honest with you. Is your wife around? Can we ask her?

Like, in my house, they barely let me change the light bulbs. I once assembled the swing set. No.

I'm just I'm just not handy. That's pretty good. That's a good dad joke, by the way. Right over my head. Thank you.

I once assembled and you actually had to saw the lumber like a a a fort with a swing set attached to it. My brother and my dad set an over under on the number of hospital visits they expected to me have me to have while doing this. Didn't help me. Didn't offer to cut any lumber for me. They just assumed I'd lose a digit or two in the process.

So I am not so so if the ant if you're asking me, Daren, probably can't redo my glove. You're you're you're handy enough. Maybe you can figure it out.

I love sewing all my gear and and fixing all my gear, but I'm not sure about that floating tee. Maybe I'll practice on an old glove.

Get a dead yeah. I should get a dead glove and and figure out how to how to do it first.

That's what you call it, a dead glove?

No. I just made it up.

That's a pretty cool description, though.

Pretty much.

They're I think you're onto something like that. That's gotta go into our, like, goalie glossary.

Okay. Yeah. I'll add that to the list.

That's good.

Dead glove. I've had a few gloves that are dead to me after games, but I don't know about actually dead.

I'm going through a stretch last two and a half weeks, and I'm I'm very average with my glove. I'm on fire right now catching pucks and and legitimately catching them, like, moving my hand to catch them, not pucks just going in. I'm I'm excited right now.

You you've been doing some NHL Sense Arena, a little extra work on that?

Little bit. Yeah. And it it works. And I've done some, some dialing into my putting, and I don't know whether that it shouldn't, but whether it's reading lines and reading situations, but it's it's on fire right now.

Well, you know what, Daren?

I'm enjoying the moment.

Between the the great weather and the fact you're out golfing and you're playing against NHL shooters, we're really happy for you, buddy. Glad it's going well. Might be a little bit of bitterness and jealousy in that, but, yeah, we're really happy for you. Keep it up.

I've been here seven years.

Thanks for sharing, buds.

I've been here seven years, and you guys haven't even come close to visiting. You Woody, your family came, but you didn't come.

Oh, that's true. My daughter had a volleyball tournament there, and I was the only one that didn't go.

So you you guys have had an open invitation, so screw you.

I thought it was the thought that counts. We've thought it coming.

Daren, I apologize that we haven't been down, but I'm gonna do you the next best thing here. I'm sending Cam down at the end of March.

Oh, no way.

Yes. He's coming.

For the Bauer conference?

No. He's just coming to see you, buddy.

I love that. I wanna I wanna hang out with him for a game. He can come up to Section 117 at T Mobile Arena and hang out with me for a game. I'm serious.

He's he's he's headed down there. We'll set it up.

Beautiful. We'll trash Woody the whole time. Maybe.

Do you blame him?

Hey. If you haven't, checked it out, the new refurbished, relaunched, ingoalmag.com is really, really cool. It's so user friendly right now. So if you've been listening to the podcast and, said sort of wrote yourself a note at the start that you gotta check it out, do it now, as we wrap things up. There's a lot of, interface that just, cut some corners for you and makes it, easier to navigate.

And a brand new story, we should have probably mentioned this off the top from our new writer, Colin Hodd, on Connor Hellebuyck. It's a great it's he's Colin's been doing a great job of going through these old podcasts and some of the interviews we have and making sure that that that the great material from the interviews doesn't get lost. And he had some great stuff from Connor Hellebuyck on basically what is a guy who went from stick and puck as a as a teenager coming out of high school with no draft status all the way to USA Olympian this week. That's a pretty cool journey, and Colin did a great job of pulling some great quotes and anecdotes from that interview and making them come to life in a story that's featured right now at ingoalmag.com.

Even more reason to, check it out over at ingoalmag.com for David Hutchison, Kevin Woodley, Daren Millard. Thanks for listening. Can't wait to chat with you again on InGoal Radio, the podcast presented by The Hockey Shop Source for Sports Langley, thehockeyshop.com.